Reflections from the depths of memory in Nguyen Trong Tai's paintings.

The first solo exhibition of painter Nguyen Trong Tai at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum (Hanoi) not only marks a sustained creative journey but also opens a profound dialogue between light and ruins, between arduous training and freedom, between the artist's self and layers of cultural sediment.

The event attracted a large audience of art lovers.

The exhibition "Reflections of Light," which opened on December 21st at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, showcases 29 works created by artist Nguyen Trong Tai over the past five years.

A space for painting that celebrates light.

As one of the prominent names among contemporary Vietnamese artists, Nguyen Trong Tai emerged from the field of woodblock printing – a discipline that demands rigorous structural thinking, decisive calculations, and a high level of discipline. This foundation is clearly evident throughout his later creative journey, even as his materials changed and his emotions evolved in different directions.

After graduating and starting his career, Nguyen Trong Tai pursued oil painting for many years as a way to build professional stability and develop his visual language. Oil painting can be seen as a bridge that helped him retain the compositional thinking of his engravings while simultaneously developing the skills to create depth and light necessary for mastering pastels later on.

This first solo exhibition marks a significant milestone in the artist's style and inspiration.

At the exhibition, Nguyen Trong Tai's oil paintings mostly feature ruins, ancient architecture, heritage sites in Hanoi , Hue, or even the Angkor complex (Cambodia)... The muted color palette and solid compositions give viewers a sense of the depth of history and the ravages of time. There is no easy romanticism, but rather a stern, unvarnished look at origins – where beauty is distilled from ruins.

Alongside that creative theme, the ballet subject (12 works) is where he applies a combination of international techniques and the Vietnamese spirit. It is known that this particular subject captivated Nguyen Trong Tai from his school years. His oil paintings of ballet contributed to the artist's reputation, receiving enthusiastic reception from the public and collectors alike due to the harmonious combination of standard body structure and profound emotion.

Art is "reflected" from everyday objects and movements.

The exhibition "Reflections in the Light" is therefore not simply a display, but also the culmination of a long journey: from engravings to oil paintings, from structure to light, from observing the external world to introspection.

As artist Nguyen Trong Tai himself shared: "Every thing that exists in life has its own beauty; it carries within it a pure light; some sparkle and shine brightly in the moment of existence, while others burst into light after having gone through ups and downs and ruin..."

Artist Nguyen Trong Tai shared his thoughts and interacted with the audience.

"The 'reflected light'," he said, is the light that flickers from cracks, from fragments of ancient artifacts buried beneath layers of geological strata. It's the clash and reflection between perfection and imperfection, between the golden standard and the beauty of the remaining ruins.

pastels, ballet, and East Asian emotions.

Recently, pastel has brought him a surge of emotion. Nguyen Trong Tai has strived and succeeded in taking pastels beyond their traditional sketching role. He skillfully uses this dry powder medium to depict intangible things: light, moisture, and the movements of ballet dancers.

Some of the ballet-themed works on display at the exhibition.

Through the delicate technique of blending and layering thin layers of chalk, the colors in the paintings are not rigid but spread out, creating an almost multi-sensory experience. In the series of ballet backstage paintings, viewers can "feel" the dense atmosphere of the rehearsal room, the lingering moisture in each breath. The light chalk strokes at the edges of the costumes and figures evoke a visual effect of speed, of the softness of the tulle, making the dress seem to have just stopped after a turn.

Artist and art researcher Vu Huy Thong repeatedly used the words "sparkling" and "shimmering" when commenting on the lighting in the series of ballet works in the exhibition. He believes that the use of pastels helps the artist control light and color well, especially the feeling of light shining through the characters' costumes. More importantly, it's not just about technique, but also about Nguyen Trong Tai's focus and perseverance, so that each painting has its own depth and emotion.

A fresh and challenging subject matter, yet one that is also full of poetic charm.

Besides ballet, the series of four nude paintings also reveals another facet of Nguyen Trong Tai's artistic world . In these works, the female form is placed in a subtle relationship with nature and the four seasons. Human beauty is celebrated poetically and respectfully, avoiding any ostentation or vulgarity.

For Nguyen Trong Tai, painting is not just a career, but an integration into life, a way to honor the most fundamental aspects of humanity: labor, hard work, and inner freedom. The public's reception of the works in "Reflection of Light" is proof that genuine art, when refined by willpower and dedication, always finds its rightful place.

The trilogy "Revival" (2020-2025).

Chairman of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, Luong Xuan Doan, viewed the exhibition space with a deeply contemplative tone: “It takes real confidence to dare to take risks on one's personal creative journey to find one's true self. Who am I among all living things?… Oil paint and pastels are a parallel rhythm in each painting. The way of unearthing ancient artifacts that have sunk to the bottom of oblivion is also a unique path, unlike anyone else… Longing for a reflected light, Nguyen Trong Tai has already touched upon it, through each painting.”

"Reflection of the Light," as the artist put it, is the return of inner light, a journey of self-discovery for each individual artist. In this exhibition space, that light is not dazzling or noisy, but clear and gentle, touching the viewer and leaving a mark as a beautiful, peaceful realm of emotion.

The exhibition is open to visitors until December 27th at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Artist Nguyen Trong Tai was born in 1978 in Thai Nguyen and graduated from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts (now the Vietnam University of Fine Arts) in 2004.

He has participated in numerous art exhibitions both domestically and internationally, such as: the Capital Exhibition (group exhibition) in Hanoi in 2003; the "Young Eyes" Exhibition (group exhibition) in Hanoi in 2004 and a group exhibition in Hong Kong (China); the National Art Exhibitions in Hanoi in 2005 and 2010; a group exhibition in Malaysia in 2008; the "Realm of Emotions" group exhibition in Hanoi in 2014; the "Aspiration" group exhibition in Hanoi in 2017...

My Hanh

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hoi-quang-tu-nhung-tang-sau-ky-uc-trong-tranh-nguyen-trong-tai-post931912.html